Matt Ward

Stephen Lawrence 's friend has said he could have identified a sixth suspect in his friend's murder if he had been given the Opportunity .

, Duwayne Brooks said he would have picked out Matthew White , who died in 2021, in a line-up.

On Monday, White was named as The Sixth suspect in the racist killing 30 years ago,

Stephen, 18, was killed in Eltham, south-east London in April 1993.

Mr Brooks was waiting for a bus with Stephen at The Time .

The failure of The First police investigation prompted a landmark public inquiry which concluded The Met was institutionally racist.

Mr Brooks said: " If they had put him in an ID parade in front of me at The Time I would have picked him out 100%. "

" There's No Doubt and I'm extremely confident Other People at the Bus Stop would have picked him out and this case would have been solved then. "

He added: " Thirty years on it's impossible for me to say from memory this is the person, but from the e-fit and my description it's clear it's the same person. That's him. "

The Met Police has consistently said there were six white men involved, as Mr Brooks said on The Night .

Five Prime Suspects became widely known after the murder, but The Public inquiry said there were " five or six" attackers.

David Norris and Gary Dobson were given life sentences for the murder in 2012. The Other Three - Luke Knight and brothers Neil and Jamie Acourt - have not been convicted of The Crime .

White was arrested twice, in 2000 and 2013, and files were sent to The Crown Prosecution Service in 2005 and 2014. But on both occasions prosecutors said there was no realistic prospect of conviction.

Mr Brooks told The Paper : " Matthew White was placed in The Witness bracket when he should have been a suspect. "

In May and June 1993 Mr Brooks and eyewitnesses to the murder attended identify parades which included the Prime Suspects in the case, but Matthew White was not part of the parades.

Baroness Doreen Lawrence , Stephen Lawrence 's mother, has also criticised The Police handling of information about a sixth suspect in her son's murder, saying there should be " serious sanctions" against The Police officers who failed to investigate White.

In response to the naming of Matthew White as a suspect, The Met Police confirmed he was seen again in 2020, but there was insufficient witness or forensic evidence to progress further.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Ward said: " Unfortunately, too many mistakes were made in The Initial investigation and the impact of them continues to be seen.

" On the 30th anniversary of Stephen's murder, Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley apologised for our failings and I repeat that apology today. "

Source of news: bbc.com